PhD student Lucy Conran (The University of Western Australia) is advancing the frontiers of Multivariate Statistics, with a particular focus on developing new methods for analysing high-dimensional biomedical data. Her PhD research focusses on creating statistical tools capable of extracting meaningful patterns from complex datasets. Lucy was eager to see these methods used beyond the academic sphere. That opportunity came through APR.Intern, where Lucy joined a project at St. Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, applying a novel statistical method developed during her doctoral research to fresh blood samples collected from clinical studies.
“I was drawn to the project because it allowed me to apply the method I had developed during my PhD to real-world biological data. It was a rare opportunity to validate academic research in a clinical setting,” Lucy said.
During the three-month internship, Lucy focused exclusively on a single project, analysing immune response data to help identify biomarkers that differentiate between healthy adults with and without Cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common virus with potential long-term health implications.
“The internship allowed me to work at the interface of statistics and medicine, and it was immensely rewarding to see my method reveal new biological insights.”
One of the standout experiences for Lucy during her internship was presenting her research at the Centre for Applied Medical Research Seminar Series, where she had to communicate complex statistical ideas to a largely non-statistical audience.
“My biggest learning outcome was learning how to translate technical results into a language that clinical and biological researchers could engage with. That’s a skill I will carry with me into any future collaboration.”
The impact of the internship extended beyond the project’s timeframe. The success of the statistical method in identifying relevant biomarkers led to follow-on research and the drafting of a scientific paper, which is currently in its final stages and will be submitted to a journal specialising in flow cytometry.
During her internship, Lucy worked on developing improved methods for statistical comparisons between 2 sets of high parameter flow cytometry data, to analyse differences in T cell subsets clustered in multi-dimensions. This involved identifying how T cells in blood samples from healthy adults chronically infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV) were different from healthy adults not infected with CMV. Lucy’s work successfully identified a novel subset of CD4 T cells that resulted from CMV infection, that has important implications for successful control of chronic viral infections in humans. – Associate Professor John Zaunders, Senior Hospital Scientist | R&D | NSW State Reference Laboratory for HIV
Lucy credits the structure of the APR.Intern program, including regular support from both academic and industry mentors, as a key factor in the success of the placement.
“I would absolutely recommend APR.Intern to other students. It’s a structured, supportive environment that offers genuine opportunities for impact and learning.”
Looking ahead, Lucy sees the internship as a catalyst for future academic-industry partnerships.
“The project has sparked new research directions and may lead to ongoing collaboration with the team at St. Vincent’s. In five to ten years, I see myself leading projects at the intersection of data science and medical research. This internship has been a vital step toward that goal.”
Lucy Conran is a PhD candidate at the University of Western Australia
Lucy was a recipient of the WiSE subsidy
